Time for a Career Course Correction?

So, you have finally earned your eMBA, and now you are looking around and taking stock of your career. Instead of sailing straight toward your old goals, are you thinking it may be time for a career course correction? Now is the perfect time to make the shift to a different job or industry!

You are the manager of your own career. No one else is going to step in and chart a course to the next level, and no one else is going to be as invested in your success as you are. Not to mention, no one else is going to change things up if you’re unhappy where you are. It’s up to you to manage your career to create both professional and personal success, however you define it.

As an eMBA Career Coach, I have the privilege of teaching an outstanding group of upcoming and recent graduates how to take charge of their careers and how to plan out their paths to their career goals. Along the way, I’ve learned that there are barriers even C-Suite and Board Level Executives erect for themselves. If you’re feeling the need for a course correction to a new set of goals for your career, don’t let yourself stand in your way.

My ____ will be so disappointed.

This is your career, and you have the experience, skills, and knowledge to know what does, and does not work for you. When you take the leap to change your career plans, it will surprise you how much support and approval you’ll find. Nearly everyone else trusts your wisdom to know what’s best for you!

The risk is too great.

If you’re thinking of taking your eMBA and leaving corporate life to write romance novels, that is an enormous risk. Not insurmountable if it’s what truly excites you. But the career risks of changing industries, taking an international job, or taking a lateral career move to aim for a different goal? Those are all part of the excitement of managing your own career and setting your own goals. Plus, a recent graduation is a great explanation to hiring influencers for the change.

You won’t know until you do it.

Unless you are going back to an old familiar path, you won’t know how well the new path will suit you until you are on it. That alone means it’s worth the effort. No job, done to the best of your ability with 100% effort, is ever wasted. Even if you go back to your original goals after a few years, you’ll have added skills, knowledge, and experience that carries significant value. Your resume has still grown!

Waiting is safer than a career course correction.

Waiting isn’t always the answer, and it can cost you opportunities. With a freshly earned eMBA, you have built an amazing resume, shown that you have the skills, knowledge, and determination to reach for the next level of your career, and you are a very attractive candidate in a job search. If you are feeling the need for change, now may be the perfect timing.

The key to making the right choice for your career is to examine all of your opportunities and choose the best one for you and your career. Separate fear from fact, and focus on your goals and the best ways to achieve them. Your path will become clear. Take that eMBA you worked so hard to earn and turn it into the career you’ve been dreaming about!